good evening, everyone.

welcome to a second hour of ayman. we are following the breaking news -- the man once heralded does the future of the republican party, the self styled air to trumpism, has ended his bid for the presidency of the united states. he suspended his campaign today, bringing a close to perhaps the single most cringeworthy, disastrous gop primary showing in modern political history. the announcement comes two days before voters head to the polls in new hampshire where he was projected to finish far behind both former president donald trump and former u.n. ambassador nikki haley.

as a final sign of disrespect to his supporters, desantis chose not to break the news on the stump, surrounded by the people who spent months trying to keep his campaign alive, instead, he ended his never back down campaign on acts, and then immediately, shamelessly, endorsed donald trump. yes, these same donald trump who spent much of the past year mocking, denigrating, and humiliating ron desantis. >> we're leading by a lot. we're leading desanctimonious by massive numbers. he's heading south quickly. no personality. democrats are contributing to ron desanctimonious -- ron desantis's campaign. >> the greatest moment of the debate when ron was walking around, ron desanctimonious was walking off the stage, and he's walking -- we don't want to run against ronda sanctimonious with his

high heels. and his bobblehead. you know, he looks like a bobblehead doll. >> and as of tonight, as cringe as watching that, ron desantis joins the ranks of governor scott walker, senator marco rubio, all who entered republican primary races with the wind in their sails, set to be rising stars within the republican party, only to be tossed aside and utterly embarrassed by the very voters they sought to win over. from beginning to end, the desantis campaign was in no other word but a disaster. from his a fictional launch on x when the app servers crashed repeatedly and listeners could hear the candidates speak knowingly bicker with elon musk, -- vicious fights with black republicans over florida's history curriculum, and the alleged, quote, benefits of slavery. his campaign suspension video where he shared a fake quote attributed to winston churchill.

and of course, that's to say nothing of the dozens of gaps, the awkward exchanges, the uncomfortable smiles that played his performances on both the debate stages and town halls. we're not even gonna talk about issues. tonight, we pour went out for you, governor ron disaster. let's bring in dasha burns who joins us on the ground from manchester as well as nbc's vaughn hillyard who is also with us at a trump rally in rochester. dasha, i'll start with you. what are you hearing from both the desantis campaign tonight we -- know he canceled his media appearances yesterday. he was supposed to be on meet the press earlier today. but do we know more about what led to this announcement? >> well, look, ayman, the governor felt like it was the end of the road. we have been pressing him. my last interview with him in south carolina, i asked him to explain his path forward. and he really struggled to articulate it. both politically and financially. it was a difficult road ahead. and there was a calculation

made that better to come out on top, as they would caught, coming out of iowa with the second place finish, rather than calling it after coming in single digits here in new hampshire. now you talked about this endorsement of former president trump. here's the thing. now, we're in this race where it's nikki haley in donald trump, right? as we've been following the desantis campaign, he has, for the most part, campaigned or tried to campaign to the right of trump. he's tried to chip away at that trump base. and so the voters that have been supporting florida governor ron desantis, according to our polling and all the data that we've seen, anecdotally, all the conversations i've had with his base of support, those voters are much more likely to support former president trump than they are to support nikki haley. take a listen to some of what we heard. >> what do you think a lot of the other -- >> i think most of the

supporters will go to trump. where desantis support is gonna go? i think they'd go to trump. trump has reconfigured how we look at the republican party. so it's kind of the domino effect. >> and this poses a problem for nikki haley, as much as desantis and haley really feuded over the last few weeks here, in some ways, it was better for her if he stayed in this primary just to make that buffer between her and former president trump. but, now that ballot chair is likely to go to the former president, creating another obstacle for the last person standing trying to become that trump alternative, ayman. >> at this trump rally in rochester, you opened up by congratulating ron desantis undoing, quote, a very good job, despite that mash of sound that we played earlier. we know these two have a complicated relationship, to say the least. what can we expect from this

dynamic going forward? >> ayman, i mean dasha was there. she heard the critiques that donald trump has repeatedly given toward ron desantis over the last year. but likewise, the former governor is on push back against why donald trump should not be the future of the republican party. and yet, today, dropping out and endorsing donald trump -- it was met by a statement -- he said that he was honored by the endorsement, and then went as far to suggest here in new hampshire, on stage, that he would drop the name rhonda sanctimonious and an effort to unify the republican party -- coalesced his support on the way to the republican nomination. it's a bit of what donald trump said here from the stage. the rochester -- >> i'd like to take time to congratulate ron desantis. he was very gracious, and he endorsed me. so i appreciate that.

i appreciate that, and i also look forward to working with ron and everybody else to defeat crooked joe biden. we have to get him out. we have to get him out. >> ayman, donald trump providing quite the off ramp for the florida governor who he has repeatedly attacked over the course of last year. i'm gonna head now to nikki haley, who is still very much in this race, but an acknowledgment that donald trump, for most, wants to bring in as many republicans as he can. we saw this eight years ago with rubio, chris christie, ted cruz, that have come to his defense. here in the year of 2024, it's clear that he's eager to do so again with not only desantis, but vivek ramaswamy, tim scott, all endorsing him and appearing on stage with him at campaign events over the last few days. >> all right, dasha burns, ron hilliard, thank you very much for starting us off here this hour. with me now throughout the hour, my panel --

host of the is it just me or have we all lost our minds podcast. -- senior advisor at the lincoln project, he's also a former republican communications director, and last but for certainly not least, democratic pollster ferdinand amani. great to have you all with us. -- i'm curious to get your thoughts on all this. we have a lot of different perspectives, but tara, i'll start with you. can you think of a single republican primary contender who has embarrassed themselves more, or tarnish the reputation more than governor ron desantis? i mean, recall all the fawning coverage that he received. we've got some of it up here. new york post showing him the future from conservative media outlets, including this front page from the new york post. i genuinely can't think -- i was trying to think of previous candidates, jeb bush came to mind, he was never praised or expected to do as well as ron desantis. and yet, here is ron desantis sharing jeb bush's fate. >> yeah.

jeb bush, scott walker, marco rubio, chris christie, the list is long. and people who've embarrass themselves trying to kiss up to donald trump after he embarrassed them as long as well. it's like the, you know, political cowardice greatest hits volume to. but ron desantis was a dead man walking. his campaign was, since he launched. and i will say that we at the lincoln project predicted that he would be an epic fail from day one. we predicted this a year and a half ago. we sat back and said, okay, just watch. just watch. ron desantis does not have what it takes. and you could see the way things were lining up, that where pressure on, predictive of how he would handle the national spotlight. first of, all he allowed himself to be defined by donald trump four months before he was able to respond. because he wasn't declared candidate until may. so all that fawning coverage was going on, and he wasn't

really able to defend himself against trump's attacks well that funding coverage was going on, because trump said, no no, we're gonna blunt that right away. and, so that was months of that. and also, ron desantis, you have to remember, one of his closest political allies was susie wildes. and he fired her a couple years ago. guess who hired her and who's running champ campaign? donald trump. donald trump hired ron desantis's closest political ally and consultant, and she knew where all the bodies were buried for ron desantis, and several other staffers that used to work for him went over to donald trump. so they knew you had to needle ron desantis and take him out early on. the missteps, the blown money, the mismanagement in this campaign, his awkwardness on the campaign trail, i mean, how many candidates can you say had a super pac like ours make an ad called elect tile dysfunction? we did that too ron desantis. there was just so much out there to do. we sat back saying, we told you

so, this is not really much of a shock, and adding to the ash heap of cowards who are unable to take out donald trump. >> jennifer, i want to give you a chance to respond to that as well. the takeout from desantis's campaign and putting, not a surprise for all of us who are watching, but what is the consequence of how this campaign went out? >> well, first of all, ron desantis, frankly, didn't -- campaign to implode. i don't think there were very many folks outside of the campaign -- but he was gonna go very far. and the primary reason for it isn't the awkwardness with the people, the inability to recognize social signals, things like that. it was because he never had a message. he never found a lane that gave him the strength to try to get past trump. his lane was always, i'm donald trump, but i'm electable. you know, i'm the good-looking

-- and the trump who actually comes his hair every morning. he always thought that he could out-trump trump. out trump trumpism. it was never going to happen. it was just not a possibility. and the consequences of what happened today, i think you asked me about that, you know, they're not particularly surprising either. ron desantis's votes are quickly gonna become trump votes. you'll see another line of hypocritical republican party leaders of all different titles who are going to jump in now to give their endorsement. they want to make sure trump knows right away, early on, they weren't waiting for super tuesday to endorse him. we were with you from the beginning, donald. so that list of endorsement is going to continue to grow. and with all due respect to governor haley, ambassador haley, i don't think this is an opening for her at all. we heard a lot from her earlier today suggesting this is

somehow going to where did it all open the lane for go wrong for ron her. desantis, do you? think is it a single moment, is it a single gaffe? what was the step in this campaign? was it how it was launched, or something along the way? >> well, i think it was definitely something along the way. i mean we just echoed the comments of what -- and jennifer said. this was a candidacy that never had a rationale. simply because all of us who knew the ron desantis origin story, he was created in donald trump's laboratory. he would never have become the governor of florida, how did not single-handedly been for the endorsement that donald trump made, where even his ads ran maga donald trump signs and walls. he even had his children, they were talking about how he was going to teach them to grow up to be just like donald trump. so what you saw in the campaign, and the run up to the campaign, was one where he not only did not try to distinguish himself

from trump, certainly never attacked him, or drew a contrast. it was simply, as -- presents himself as the mini me trump. in a personality cult party that donald trump is leading, and seeking the nomination. so i just didn't make sense. and i think the most telling moments from the political -- point of view are the opening and closing of the campaign. those are the two days that you most can control, when you decide to launch, and when you decide to end it. and both of those were unmitigated disasters by the desantis campaign. so it was an insight into a dysfunctional operation, with no purpose, no message, and no candidate or candidacy that was trying to stop the overwhelming front runner, donald trump, from re-capturing the nomination for a third time. so no real surprises. here >> yeah, no real surprises. and on top of everything you've all described, just a horrible retail politician all around. i don't think i've seen someone as cringeworthy as wrong

desantis, trying to shake hands with kids or anyone in the room, it was just awkward for the sky. everyone stick around, we are gonna continue the conversation. next up, democrats are obviously celebrate tonight's breaking news, but how does the party sees this moment in the general election? i'm going to ask someone who has worked on biden's transition team. transition team. help prevent covid-19 from breaking your momentum. you may have already been vaccinated against the flu, but don't forget this season's updated covid-19 shot too. the virus that causes shingles is sleeping... in 99% of people over 50. it's lying dormant, waiting... and could reactivate.

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of his 2024 campaign official,

for democratic party dropped a statement saying, in part on desantis's presidential campaign is a dead, rotten carcass on the side of the road. adding, now that he is finally done chasing a pipe dream, florida democrats are firmly focused on ending the republican super majority in our legislature, fighting his racist, massage innocent, homophobic, and transphobic policies at every turn. photos of tomorrow -- and also released this statement, saying quote, dropping out of the race for president is the best thing that ron desantis has ever done for gen z. desantis has terrorized black and lgbtq+ students, attacked teachers and banned history and books. desantis signed an extreme abortion ban, thanks for dropping out, but thanks for nothing else. with us now is -- co-executive director at the center for popular democracy. she also lead the progressive outreach for biden's 2020 transition team, and worked on bernie sanders's 2020 campaign. -- it's great to have you with. us we are seeing some strong

statements from democrats and progressive organizations today, that is not a surprise. but how else do you think democrats should, on a state and federal level, be responding to this moment and seizing this opportunity? >> first of all, thank you for having me on the show. and i enjoyed listening to your guests earlier. i think the bottom line for the democratic party, and for all americans really, is for us to focus on the issues that are keeping people up in the middle of the night. things that are keeping our families either economically insecure, like rising housing costs or housing crisis. the inability to purchase a home, or finance and education, or take care of our health. i think as long as the democratic party actually focuses on the things that matter to regular people, we

will be successful in not only regaining and taking control again of a fair and just democracy, but also i personally think that it will spell the perfect opportunity for us, not only in this election, but going all of the way into 2030, because we have to destruct not only donald trump now, but we have to destruct the push on the republican party, and the maga led push to essentially take over democracy, take over at the local level, national level. and to use everything in their path, including redistricting, disbanding democracy, systemic disenfranchisement, and pulling our communities apart. so there is a lot that we can draw on, but ayman, and i hope we do. >> let me ask you, do you think there's a difference between who runs against joe biden? you know there's always this top in some republicans like

nikki haley have suggested that they are the ones that can beat joe biden, donald trump cannot, he has lost to him, he has lost in the midterms, he is losing a lot of other issues that he has campaigned for on behalf of republicans. with ron desantis now eliminated from this race, is there a preference among democrats who they run against in the general election, because of whatever reason? it is easier to run against donald trump, he is a known loser to the democratic base, a known loser to the country. what do you think is the right approach? >> i think it is a dangerous thing to discount any candidates, beginning with donald trump. donald trump surprised a lot of us in 2016, donald trump supposedly came out of nowhere. but for folks like myself, and organizations like those that belong to center for popular democracy, we knock on doors every single day across this country. we have 48 affiliated organizations. and what we hear on the doors is that people are worried about their economic stability.

they are worried about what is going to happen to their children. and donald trump has been able to speak to that thanks, to that worry across this country, to some americans. it has sold them, albeit a false back of goods, but he is speaking to the pain, and to the things that are keeping so many americans up at night. and that is why it is critical that president biden and the biden campaign focus again on these bread and butter issues. and to remind americans about his plan, not only what he has done thus far through -- -- these policies, these investments that we're focused on helping american families. i think as long as we remind americans that he has not only a plan, but he has taken steps to meet their needs, i think we

will be able to be successful ten months from now. but i do not discount donald trump, i do not discount his ability to speak to the pain that many americans are feeling. and sadly, he has been able to weaponize both fears and the pain, and has moved some americans to essentially decide that they are willing to accept a candidate who is also speaking about dismantling american democracy,. >> yeah, the threat is real. >> and mounting up -- this is a dangerous moment, and my main concern is, how do we stay focused right now? >> let's hope the country meets the moment. -- thank you so much, i greatly appreciate your time and your insights tonight. after the break, how the cruelty is so often the point for ron desantis and his flock. from busing migrants to whitewashing history, did it lead to this outcome? we are going to ask democratic

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vitamin and supplement brand. leading up to his 2024 campa announcement, ron desantis became known for his anti immigrant rhetoric and policies. in september of 2022, he used a misleading brochure to lure migrants on to two full planes bound for martha's vineyard. it was a decision that came back to bite him, in a cnn town hall this week. >> how do tactics such as rounding up illegal immigrants and shipping them to martha's vineyard bring the nation together, to discuss comprehensive immigration reform? wasn't that a little bit more than a cheap political stunt, pandering to one side? >> well thanks for that jeff. actually if you think about, you go back to september of 2022. how was the border being treated? it was not a front burner issue. the problems were real, but it wasn't getting the type of

scrutiny that it needed. >> so, how did this approach to immigration factor into his campaign's failure? let us ask rhode island democratic seth magaziner, who is a member of the house homeland security. congressman, thank you for making time with us tonight. let me ask you about that, how do you see ron desantis's stance on immigration, that political stunt that he pulled along with greg abbott, the divisiveness, the divisive rhetoric that he used against migrants, how do you think that factored into his campaign failure? >> well first of all, i think i speak for americans across the political spectrum, when i say good riddance to ron desantis's presidential campaign. because it was a campaign based on cruelty, and it was a campaign based on appealing to the most terrible culture war toxic part of the maga base. so, as you noted, he essentially kidnapped people, luring them on to airplanes

under false pretenses, to use them as political stunts. this is i think what many of us first got a sense of the cruelty that would be defining desantis's campaign. that of course continued in the ensuing months with anti and lgbt stunts that he pulled with book bans in school libraries, with enacting one of the most restrictive and cruelest abortion bans in the united states. and so, this was a campaign, ron desantis orchestrated that, it was really based on trying to divide people, and using people as props in the cruelest way imaginable. and that turned off people, not just on the left and in the center, but clearly in the republican party as well. when joe biden was focusing on lowering prescription drug costs, bringing back manufacturing jobs, standing up to vladimir putin, ron desantis

was, as you noted, focused on showing off his cruelty to immigrants, to gay americans, to people who need abortion care. and it didn't work for him, and i hope that other candidates across the country take a lesson from that. >> speaking of the lessons learned, what could democrats do to seize on this opportunity? because as you mentioned, the cruelty of ron desantis is gone, but the cruelty of the republican party still very much exists in donald trump. and if anything, it has solidified his grip over the party, with the tactics that somebody like ron desantis tried to exploit? >> yeah, so it's a two -- approach, right. and i think it is exactly what the president has been doing. number one, we as democrats need to stay laser focused on the issues that really matter to people. lowering prices on -- jobs, strengthening social security, protecting abortion rights. but then, we also need to call out the cruelty where it happens, and especially make sure that people know that when

the republicans pull these kinds of stunts, there are real people who suffer. and we see that across the country now. i mean, as a result of donald trump's supreme court justices, who he brags about, there are women who are facing jail time for getting life saving abortion care. there are karens who are worried that their kids aren't going to be able to participate in school, the way other kids do, just because their kids may be gay. we have to remind people of the human impact of this cruelty, and it didn't work for ron desantis, it didn't work for donald trump in 2020. i don't believe it will work for him again this year, but we as democrats have to do the work to get that message out. >> what are, you know as somebody on your committee, you've used your voice to try to find real solutions to political problems, not just the mudslinging that i think most people in washington have gotten used to, certainly

people outside of washington have gotten used to seeing in washington. but what do you think the messaging going forward should be, about what is at stake this election? and have the democrats made that, or framed that clearly? the president, to some extent has, early on in announcing his reelection, that this is about democracy. but do you think the singular unique threat of donald trump to our democracy is resonating as loudly, as clearly as it should with the average american voter? >> when i think we have to do some work to get the message out. and donald trump is helping us, he is doing us a lot of favors by saying he will be a dictator on day one by musing openly about going after his political opponents with the department of justice. and my bizarrely but understandably basing his campaign around the idea that the president should be immune from prosecution for breaking the law. so he is giving us print plenty

of father to work with, and so we should make sure we know what donald trump is saying, about the kind of president he is going to be, and the anti-democratic goals that he has. but of course, that is not enough, we also have to make a positive case two for how we can make peoples lives better. and i think the president has a good record to run on, and we've got to run on it as well. >> we've got 11 months to see how it all plays out. congressman south magazine, or it's always a pleasure, thank you so much for making time for us. >> thanks for having me. >> next, a lesson the desantis campaign has taught all of us, that to win over people, the truth is you must first like people, and actually learn how to interact with them. a look at the governor's biggest gaffes after. this biggest gaffes after this when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. ask about nurtec odt.

it's time to feed the dogs real food, not highly processed pellets.

the farmer's dog is fresh food made with whole meat and veggies. it's not dry food. it's not wet food. it's just real food. it's an idea whose time has come. all right, so here is the deal about history, especially when it comes to cringeworthy politicians. things really come full circle. ron desantis is no exception, from the glitch filled roll out

of his campaign that nearly broke twitter, or acts, to the end of his campaign, once again falsely clotting winston churchill. but the desantis campaign rarely got five minutes -- and we could not possibly sign off tonight, without a trip down memory lane. so enjoy this clip from us. >> could i have been there with jesus's disciples? >> i'm not a candidate, so we'll see if and when that changes. >> oh what is that? can i see it? that's probably a lot of sugar. >> [inaudible] >> i'm here i don't know -- okay, all right that's good, that's good. all right i'm gonna say hi to -- >> you look at iowa, you know we did it right. you >> didn't win a single county. and 99, you didn't win a single. >> and as your president, i will not let you down, god bless you.

>> -- >> i mean, it's just so difficult to watch. that [laughter] it is so difficult to watch that. i almost feel bad for him, but i don't, not really. i want to get your reactions to this. jennifer -- and terry are back with me. tara, i'll start with you. this was a guy who was horrible at the actual act of being a politician, put aside policy for a moment. but when you watch that, what do you think, what do you make of it? >> i mean, it's cringe, the whole time. you are just looking at this and thinking, is this a candidacy, or is it like a saturday night live ongoing sketch, making fun of the worst possible awkward can ever. this was doomed to fail from the beginning. when i work in capitol hill, ron desantis was a congressman, and he was like the ted cruz of the house. no one liked him, he was awkward and weird with his colleagues. so the whining us, the sanctimonious-ness. i mean i have to give trump credit, at first we thought it

was a crime eat name, but really amount to sanctimonious is appropriate. but like i said, -- they worked for trump down, so they knew how to needle him, and where his weaknesses were. so you just look at this and you go, this guy had 100 and $50 million, he raised 150 plus million dollars to spend on getting 23,000 votes in iowa. i mean, this is who the republicans thought the donor class, all of these people thought was going to be the savior to come in and actually take out donald trump? it's laughable, it was from the beginning, and here we are. >> jennifer, your thoughts. >> well, just to build on what tara just said, the donor class and others thought he was going to be the guy who could take out donald trump. it is exactly what i said earlier in the show. because they figured that he was like the electable trump, the pretty trump, the look how pretty my hair looks trump. but the thing is, this actually goes back to something that one of your previous guest said,

even more than that, frankly. at least in new hampshire, he was never going to win the trump supporters. they had trump, they didn't need him. and what you needed to win anybody else out there was, the problem isn't just that his policies and his message was so cruel, or so mean. so much of it was inhumane, so much of it, he would just -- it he would just say it off his cuff, talking about these people that he put on planes and shipped to places that they didn't know where they were going, and separating them from their families, and banning african american studies from the high school curriculum. i mean, you go through the list, and his attitude and his policies about covid, and talking about blowing up mexico. i mean, he was not just mean, he was inhumane. that was the part of trumpism that he really ran with.

and when you have trump to choose for that, why would anybody else choose ron desantis? >> so -- what do you think happens to ron desantis going forward? and what does it mean for, if anything, the republican party? i mean, were you surprised that he came up and so quickly endorsed donald trump, not even giving himself some breathing space to see if he could be some kind of factor, or be a symbol of something other than kissing the ring, and actually backing down, despite his campaign slogan be never backing down. >> look >> we're not hearing, you i'm not sure if you are on mute or not. >> i said amen, it was always a microcosm of what ron desantis always was. he was always the beta to donald trump's alpha. so despite the insults, despite the mocking, he immediately turned around, as you said, -- he kisses the ring, at least

ted cruz, who ended up doing his own thing when he lost to trump in the primary in 2016. he waited a little bit and had his little moment at the republican convention 2016. no such moment of profile or semi courage for ron desantis. and as far as his future, he leaves this race a completely diminished figure. not just in the national ambition, because as you saw from those amazing clips that will live forever, he is not going to improve on his personality skills in a future run for national office. as someone once said, it's tough for a guy who doesn't like people to deal and run in a campaign, because voters tend to be people. but on top of that, he diminishes his own standing in florida, and that is the real problem for him. if he had been running here almost as a dictator in his own right, with complete total obedience by the republican legislature, i think we now are going to see some of the cracks that have occurred in the trump

desantis fight in florida take place, when he comes back now and tries to be governor for the next three years, which is only going to hurt him more so. so this was a catastrophic mistake, i never understood why he ran against donald trump for the presidency. and i think it's not too early to call for the political obituary, at least nationally, for ron desantis. >> yeah, i completely agree with you on that. tara, >> i'll tell you why he ran. now >> tell me, go ahead. >> well, because casey really wanted to be first lady. okay, she is his closest advisor, let's just be honest. she had been measuring the drapes for quite some time, and she was his closest adviser. and that was a big part of the problem with his campaign apparatus, who we had around him. so, he started to believe his own bs, that he could actually take on trump. so, the idea of scaling up what he did in florida nationally, he thought that somehow that was going to work. and in florida, to the point about him being diminished, the

majority of his own congressional delegation in florida endorsed donald trump, before he even announced. so i mean, talk about political inertia. youth -- they're just not that into you. >> jennifer, final thought, just looking ahead. does what happened today have any bearing whatsoever on nikki haley, and how she runs her campaign, and if she is next to fall? does this have any bearing whatsoever? >> yeah, i don't think it will in any way change how she is campaigning. she has really ramped up the last couple of days, she is doing everything that anybody in new hampshire would recommend that she do. but in the and, these votes are trump votes. desantis votes go to trump, ramaswamy votes go to trump. and the truth is, most of the undecided votes, even the right leading undecided, undeclared votes, are probably going to end up going to trump now to. ron desantis dropping out just makes trump look more inevitable. and that simply doesn't help nikki haley, obviously.

>> all right panel, don't go anywhere, we are going to squeeze in a quick break after -- some final thoughts for all of you, stick with. us you, stick with. us from breaking your momentum. you may have already been vaccinated against the flu, but don't forget this season's updated covid-19 shot too. every day, more dog people are deciding it's time for a fresh approach to pet food. developed with vets. made from real meat and veggies. portioned for your dog. and delivered right to your door. it's smarter, healthier pet food. ♪3, 4♪ ♪ ♪hey♪ ♪ ♪are you ready for me♪ ♪are you ready♪ ♪are you ready♪ here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need...

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kids who had to leave college, the migrants he tricked onto that plane, all for the sake of the worst campaign in american history. let's get some final thoughts from our panelists about that. you know, we said, terror we are in the show, that when you look at the list of people that ron desantis targeted, women with the abortion ban, black americans with the way he arrested voters, and also -- folks and denying them history. lg -- the migrants, the parents of transgender children, covid 19 and what that meant for the thousands of people in florida who lost their lives because their governor did not take it seriously. i mean the list just goes on, and on, and on. this was a consequential individual, who has done a lot of damage to the state. >> yeah, that's why i said the idea of scaling up what he did in florida nationally should have disqualified him from the very beginning. but it didn't, because the republican party is okay with the cruelty being the point, as

long as they win and stick it to the libs. and i think that speaks volumes about where the republican party is today, and why donald trump is still so far ahead, why he will be the nominee, as we predicted two years ago. it's inevitable, anything nikki haley or anything anybody else does is moot, it's a -- . donald trump is the republican party, trumpism is now the republican parties mantra, and that binary choice between trump and biden is going to become a reality much sooner, and the american people need to wake up and pay attention to the dictatorship that donald trump wants to inflict on this country, the threat that that poses to our democracy, and think about whether it is worth losing our democracy for a tax cut, or for lower gas prices. the american people will have to face that choice, because this election could potentially be the last free and fair election we have in this country, if they elect donald trump again. that is what we are facing here. >> is that becoming clear for voters, or not yet, when you

see somebody like ron desantis, and the kind of campaign he ran. is it being crystalize clearly for americans what is at stake in 2024? >> i mean i think a little by little, yes. i don't think it's there yet, i don't think it is going to happen until, as tara said, we now for certain know that it is going to be donald trump versus biden. although for all of us that are watching and are engaged in this, we know that is coming. but for the average voter, it's not really -- that case is going to have to be made, again. but, i like to go back to a point that you made earlier. it wasn't just ron desantis all by himself, who caused so much damage here in the state of florida. he did that as a vehicle of donald trump, as do all of the profiles in cowardice of today's republican party. they are following the lead, and trying to out-trump trump with this cruelty, because it is ultimately what republican voters are willing to stand by. that is why it is absolutely

critical that team biden and team democracy, and the coalition that has to emerge to successfully defend that. not just democrats, but democrats, independents, republicans of conscience, who there are millions of them out there, van together and understand and make the case that if we do not reelect joe biden, we are ending the 246 year experiment, the american experiment, representative democracy. and we will be handing it over to donald trump, who has said not once, not twice, but on more than one occasion he will be a day one dictator. jennifer, your >> your final thoughts on this, as ron desantis exits the race, and the legacy that he leaves behind, both as a candidate and also the continued threat that donald trump poses to our democracy. >> well ferdinand had it exactly right. this primary was never about ron desantis or nikki haley, or anybody else on that stage. chris christie, ramaswamy, any

one of them. and in fact, i would suggest it wasn't even exactly about donald trump. this primary fully revealed for the american people, just how vile so many republican voters have become. just how vile the party has become. the inhumanity that the republican leadership is willing to accept and embrace. the ugliest parts of trumpism that the gop is building their platform on going forward. i've said many times, trump could be gone tomorrow, but trumpism, woven into the gop, is going to last for decades. in my biggest fear is that too many of us in this country have become lazy defenders of democracy. it is one thing for all of us to talk about it, we need americans to really understand what that means. >> absolutely an important point. we have to get the message out clearly, as to what is at stake

in this election cycle. nothing short of our democracy is on the line. jennifer -- -- thank you so much for making time for us throughout this hour. greatly appreciate your insights as always. make sure to catch -- back here on msnbc saturdays and sundays at seven pm eastern. make sure to follow us on x and instagram at eamon msnbc. our special coverage for new hampshire with jen psaki, starts right after a quick break. i'm ayman mohyeldin, have a good break. good break from breaking your momentum. you may have already been vaccinated against the flu, but don't forget this season's updated covid-19 shot too. with the majority of my patients with sensitivity i see irritated gums and weak enamel. sensodyne sensitivity gum and enamel it relieves sensitivity helps restore gum health

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